By Tümay Aslay
The Coronavirus pandemic is changing everything around us and that includes our fitness routines. Mandatory shutdown of fitness and wellness studios in San Francisco has not only put their employees’ means of living in danger, but with all the stress and anxiety caused by Coronavirus, it feels like we need our favorite fitness and wellness programs more than ever.
Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when my social media feed started to fill up with inspirational at-home workout videos by some of my favorite trainers. “Tell me what you have, and I can design a personalized at home exercise routine for you” wrote Nia Fregoso, a HIIT and boxing trainer, under one of her Instagram videos. Brianna Colette, a life coach, captioned one of her Instagram posts “We’re all going through turbulent times right now and being stuck at home with NOTHING to do but THINK can sometimes feel like a prison. But there is a way out…” as she announced that she would be offering her sound bath sessions via Instagram Live.
All of this creative entrepreneurship being born in such tough times is amazing, so I wanted to reach out to some of these fitness specialists and see how they are doing it and what are some of their biggest challenges.
Love Story Yoga in San Francisco’s Mission District. Source: LSY Instagram
Laurel Haslam is the Studio Manager at Love Story Yoga
Aslay - Love Story Yoga has been my sanctuary where I practice yoga and connect with the community around me. I know I’m not the only one! Could you tell me what the biggest challenges are that the Love Story Yoga community is facing through these tough times and the type of support you would need?
Haslam - I am so happy to hear that you feel connected to LSY:) Obviously a major challenge is that the overhead of running a business does not stop during this crisis. While there will be some programs to help along the way, at the end of the day there is a huge amount of costs to keep up with. We hope to retain community by offering classes online, but several events (workshops, trainings, etc) must be canceled and the reality is, we will not do the same volume of business online. We opened our doors 3 years ago to embrace a large community of yogis and the uncertainty of any type of group assembly in the near future is unsettling. Prolonged social distancing will greatly impact our ability to serve our community. Uncertainty is the largest hurdle to overcome as it's hard to clear something you cannot see in its entirety.
What are some of the tools that you are using to keep the community engaged and connected?
Haslam - We are streaming live classes via Zoom and have created a YouTube channel to keep free content coming. We are doing Instagram Lives to offer grounding practices to everyone.
What’s your hope for the future as a business and is there one piece of advice you have for your clients moving forward?
Haslam - Our primary hope for the future is that the world is able to heal from this and help those that have been severely hurt by this tragic pandemic. Our hope for ourselves is that we are able to adapt, grow and thrive into whatever the future is, however it may present itself.
My number one piece of advice for people right now is to commit to a routine that includes a practice that nourishes you and to stay in the present moment. Stay connected to people via technology available, move your body and try to calm and ground yourself throughout the day to avoid the frenzy that can be easy to get swept away with. Stay in the now until we can be together again. See you on Zoom!
Website lovestoryyoga.com Instagram @lovestoryyoga
Brianna Colette, Life Coach and Wellness Practitioner. Photo by Daniel Curtis.
Brianna Colette is a Life Coach and Wellness Practitioner
Aslay - I love following you on social media and tuning into your videos which are so uplifting. Can you tell us a little more about what you do?
Colette - I am a life coach and sound therapy and meditation practitioner helping clients address underlying causes for anxiety and self-sabotage. I help people get “un-stuck” in life and connect to their inner power.
What are some of the tools that you’ve been using to reach your clients in a time where we are all homebound?
Colette - I’ve been connecting with clients on Zoom and FaceTime. I’ve also been getting great feedback from people on Instagram Live. It has been so amazing being able to connect with people in a new way and I feel really lucky that I have a medium like this to share with people who need support right now especially. One new thing I’ve been doing are video ‘sound bath’ performances. A sound bath is a meditation using various instruments that ‘bathe’ you in sound to help recalibrate your nervous system and help alleviate stress, worry and anxiety.
You mentioned in one of your recent posts that we should be using social distancing as an opportunity to upgrade. Could you tell us a little more about what you mean?
Colette - In our regular day to day lives, we’re oftentimes stretched so thin that there’s little time left over for self-reflection. Now that we’ve all been forced to slow down, we have an opportunity to use this time to see what areas of our personal growth we might have neglected. We have time to be really honest with ourselves about which trajectory we’re on and whether we need make any necessary adjustments. It’s like we have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lean all the way in to ourselves, to come out of this quarantine elevated and an upgraded version of ourselves like never before.
What’s next for your brand?
Colette - I’d love to continue to grow my reach and share my story and message. Once we’re all able to be together again, I’m going to combine my love of travel and personal development and host retreats. I want to hold space for people wanting to get away, have fun and explore new places but come home fully rested and inspired with life again.
Brianna Colette is a life coach and mental health advocate. She’s dedicated to helping others achieve personal freedom and relief from anxiety.
Website www.BriannaColette.co Instagram @Brianna.Colette
Nia Fregoso is a personal trainer and boxing instructor based in San Francisco. Photo source: Nia Fregoso.
Nia Fregoso is a Personal Trainer and a Boxing Instructor
Aslay - I love taking your bootcamp classes at the HITFITSF boxing gym! Your energy is contagious. I am very impressed how active you've been when it comes to creating online content and getting the community moving through this pandemic. Can you tell me a little about what you do and some of your tools?
Fregoso - Thanks for wanting to interview me so I can emphasize the struggle that many fitness instructors are facing, but also trying to make the best of these unknown times. For example, in one of my classes I work with an older demographic who are all Parkinson’s patients, so before San Francisco went into lockdown, we had already cancelled our class that we usually teach 12 times a week for the safety of our students. Now I teach classes online and do my own personal training remotely on Zoom.
I sense that your mission is to empower and inspire your clients, and I love that. What is your hope for everyone who’s been tuning in to your online classes during such stressful times?
Fregoso - Exercise is important for people with Parkinson's disease because it helps maintain balance, mobility and the ability to perform daily routines. I needed the green light from headquarters to be able to launch virtual workouts using Zoom. When we received the green light, I started volunteering to host three classes a week for them. At first, since my students are not all tech savvy, the classes were so cute! It was fun to see them try to figure out Zoom. I feel grateful for technology especially Zoom that I am able to keep my Parkinson’s community strong. I can see the spark in their eyes when we log on. They are looking forward to their upcoming exercise but mostly they probably just want to socialize since some of them live alone and have been quarantining alone. So, I give them a few minutes and we chat and share about what we’ve been experiencing. But then we have to get back to business and work out since the free version of Zoom only allows us to be online for 40 minutes. I also started to do my own private 1-1 classes via Zoom.
What are some of the challenges that you are facing as an entrepreneur and what kind of support do you need?
Fregoso - I am facing many challenges as we speak. All the gyms I work for are shut down, therefore no money is coming in. Most of my personal clients have cancelled, since many have lost their jobs. I can’t file for unemployment since I’m a contractor. So, I need some financial guidance during this situation - like what am I able to receive and how do I apply. Also, virtual classes and training has gotten saturated and a lot of bad content has been circulating. I’m trying to offer virtual classes to my family, friends and clients, but scheduling a class has been challenging since I’m quarantining with my fiancé and he also has meetings with clients and my classes have to be loud as you know!
What's one piece of advice you’d give to another fitness professional who’s struggling to connect with their clients?
Fregoso – I tell my people to find their purpose! What is it that they want to do here? Maybe they are freaking out about money, like I was in the beginning. But that doesn’t mean they should be training their clients outside right now - even from 6 feet away. Take advantage of the outlets offered but don’t allow someone to take advantage of your time. You might need the money but don’t let a company offer you nickels and pennies for 60 minutes of your time.
What’s next for Nia?
Fregoso - Well I’m actually very excited except having to think of how I will pay my rent. But I’m happy that I have time to do everything that I have been meaning to do but couldn’t due to lack of time. For me to grow as a human being, I want to get to know myself more, meditate, practice yoga, read, journal and master cooking recipes that I’ve been wanting to do. It’s a good time to take courses on business, administration and communication. So, taking a break from social media will be the best thing aside from hosting live fitness classes.
Website www.nia.fitness/ Instagram @niafitmitts
Interview responses were lightly edited for clarity and readability.
Tümay Aslay is a photographer, social media specialist and web designer for Seismic Sisters. Her passion for fitness is connected to the deep sense of community she finds in yoga, cross-training, boxing and wellness classes.